


Surprises End in Hope

by BuzzCat



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Incredible Hulk - All Media Types, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, BAMF Phil Coulson, F/M, Fluff, Platonic Cuddling, Pregnancy, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-24
Updated: 2015-05-24
Packaged: 2018-03-31 23:09:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3996670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BuzzCat/pseuds/BuzzCat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Darcy Lewis is pregnant, Phil Coulson is a badass, Bruce is terrified, and Tony is the best bro you can have.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Revelation

Darcy coughed again, the bile falling from her mouth into the toilet. _Damn takeout,_ she thought. It was bound to catch up with her eventually. She felt something rising in her stomach again and sure enough, her sushi was making a reappearance. As the last of it left her, Darcy felt hands behind her head, salvaging what hair they could from the disgusting slop that was in the toilet and still had strings of it hanging from her mouth. A horrifyingly familiar voice said behind her,

“Miss Lewis, do you need to go home today?” Darcy almost whipped her head around but stopped herself, mindful of the vomit-drenched tendrils lingering by her chin. Instead, she slowly turned to see, sure enough, Phil Coulson. Her new boss, as of two months ago. _Shit._ Darcy grabbed a few pieces of toilet paper and wiped at the flecks left on her face,

“This is the lady’s room.” she stated.

“So it is.”

“So…” she trailed off.

“When my newest assistant runs from her otherwise well-attended desk like the Hulk is behind her, I generally like to follow up on the cause.”

“Thorough.” said Darcy, nodding as much as she could without setting off the nausea. The corners of Coulson’s mouth twitched upward a fraction of an inch. Darcy made a vague gesture at her head, “Thanks for, you know…hair.” she said. Coulson nodded,

“It was my…you’re welcome.” Darcy huffed a laugh. She stood up, legs a little wobbly. Coulson grabbed her hand to help pull her up. Darcy put her hands on her hips,

“Well, I’m going to get cleaned up quick. I’ll make sure I’m back for that briefing at two.”

“If you need to take a sick day—“

“I’m fine. Just some shady takeout last night.”

“If you’re sure…”

“Coulson. I’m fine.” said Darcy as she almost pushed Coulson out of the bathroom. He looked reluctant, but closed the door behind him. Coulson made his way back to his office and as soon as he closed the door, he said,

“JARVIS, please scan Miss Lewis for any illness, viruses, or other health-related anomalies.”

“Of course, Agent Coulson.” said the disembodied voice. Not for the first time, Coulson was very glad that Tony had let them move their very small base of operations into Avenger Tower.

 

Back in the bathroom, Darcy was attempting to clean the vomit out of her hair. Eventually, she gave up and just did her best to wash her hair in the thankfully deep sink. Half a roll of paper towel and a hair tie later, she had a semi-respectable bun. It looked more like something had yakked a hairball on her head, but it just had to get her through the next couple of hours until lunch. She could spend a little more time fixing it then. Darcy put her hands on either side of the sink and looked at herself in the mirror. Granted last night’s takeout had been a little fishy, but the pasta the night before and the steak the night before that hadn’t been remotely subject to scrutiny and she’d still spent the last two days throwing up. At least her boyfriend rose freakishly early and he’d missed her now-daily devotions to the porcelain god. Darcy put the back of her hand to her forehead. She didn’t have a fever. There were no other symptoms aside from the nausea. Darcy felt an idea forming in the back of her head, but she crushed it. That was not something to be contemplated without further evidence. A final nod at herself in the mirror and Darcy went back out to her desk, shooting Coulson a thumbs-up as she sat down.

Coulson, as always, left his door open so he could ask Darcy questions without bothering with the phone. Mostly the open door ended with Darcy yelling at him to take his damn pills. He still wasn’t fully recovered from the Loki attack and Coulson knew that if Darcy didn’t yell at him twice a day, he probably would have collapsed weeks ago. Neither of them wanted to really talk about it, but Darcy’s position as his assistant was partially to assist him with his work and partially to assist in his recovery. She made him take his pills, reminded him to do some of the physical therapy he wanted so badly to avoid, even on more than one occasion dragged him out of the office after ten at night and thrown him into a car and sent him home. The first time that happened, Coulson was significantly easier to move out, due to the fact he’d forgotten to eat in the past six hours and subsequently had foregone his medication and with the insomnia he’d been plagued with, it was a miracle he’d even been standing. That was also the second day Darcy had been working for him. When he woke up the next morning with his pills, a glass of water, and a note saying that all meetings before noon had been rescheduled and that he needed to do his PT or else, Coulson knew he had chosen his assistant well.

Just then, JARVIS’s voice spoke and pulled Coulson from his memories,

“Mr. Coulson, the scans you requested are complete. They have been emailed to you.” said the AI.

“Thank you, JARVIS.” said Coulson as he opened his email. He was grateful that JARVIS realized that Coulson did not want Darcy to hear he’d been scanning her. Opening the email, he read through the results. Everything was as to be expected, until…

“JARVIS? Have these results been double-checked?”

“Triple, sir.” said the AI, sounding slightly miffed that Coulson would question him. Coulson closed the email and stood up, walking out to Darcy’s desk,

“Walk with me.” he said. Darcy looked slightly hesitant, but stood and grabbed her purse, locking the office behind them as they left. They were in the elevator before Darcy said,

“Can I ask what’s going on?”

“Yes.”

“What’s going on?”

“We’ll find out.” said Coulson. Darcy sighed in exasperation and pulled out her phone, playing Candy Crush. Soon they were on street level and out the door. The Manhattan streets were warm and the sun beat down on them. Coulson, were he not hell-bent on his mission, would have slightly regretted wearing a full suit out in the blistering sun. Soon they were at the nearest drug store. Darcy snorted,

“Seriously? This was the super-secret thing we were doing? Going to CVS?”

“Yes.” said Coulson, holding the door for Darcy as they stepped in. They walked quickly, Darcy following slightly bemused. Once she realized what aisle they were going to, though, Darcy quickly planted her feet,

“Woah there, bossman, exactly what do you need there?”

“Not me.” said Coulson, dragging Darcy into the aisle with condoms and lube and other things Darcy did not want to be around while her boss was there. He thrust a few boxes into her hands and grabbed her elbow, leading Darcy up to the counter. Only when they were at the semi-comatose cashier did Darcy see what had been in her hands. Pregnancy tests. She dropped them like they’d burned her,

“What the hell, dude? I throw up once and this is your immediate conclusion?”

“I had JARVIS scan you—“

“Traitorous bastard of an AI—“

“—and he said that you’re pregnant.”

“He made a mistake.”

“Triple checked.”

“If he was so sure, why are we buying these?”

“Because JARVIS couldn’t directly sample you and these can.” said Coulson, pulling out his wallet and handing a fifty over to the cashier. Change and a plastic bag of their purchases were quickly returned and Coulson led Darcy out. As they waited to cross at the light, Darcy said quietly,

“I can’t.” Coulson almost didn’t hear her over the traffic and people, but he turned to her,

“Can’t what?”

“Be pregnant. I’m…I’m not…I’m still a kid myself.” she said. Coulson saw the impending tears and wrapped his arms around her, startling both Darcy and himself. He hadn’t had physical contact beyond hand-shaking or fighting in a very long time. Darcy leaned against his side and Coulson tightened his grip on her. He said nothing and let Darcy sniffle quietly at his side as they made their way back to Avenger Tower, taking the back way up to avoid as many people as possible. They stepped off the elevator at an empty floor, used mostly for storage. There was still a bathroom, which Coulson ushered Darcy into with the plastic bag. Darcy shook her head,

“Jesus, you seem more worked up about this than I am.”

“Just take the tests.” said Coulson tiredly. Darcy stepped into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. Once she was in there, Coulson took a moment and realized Darcy was right. He was far too worked up about this. It didn’t really make sense. It’s not like he was the father and yes, Darcy was a friend, but he didn’t get this invested with friends. Then Coulson felt the proverbial lightening-strike of understanding. Darcy had come to be the daughter he never had. In two short months, she’d wormed her way in as his pseudo-daughter. Coulson turned the idea over in his mind. There was no definitive day or action that cemented her place, it was just something that happened over time until suddenly Coulson just knew it. Of course, that didn’t mean that he wasn’t slightly shocked and grasping the wall for support.

The bathroom door slowly opened, revealing a tearful Darcy and Coulson’s own revelation flew from his mind. The stick in her hand had two pink lines. Coulson swallowed, his mouth going dry. Darcy set the stick on the counter, careful not to touch the business end of it. She looked at him again and Coulson immediately wrapped his arms around her. Darcy hugged him back just as tight, sobs shaking her. Coulson hesitantly brought a hand up and started smoothing it down her back,

“It’s alright. It’s okay.” he repeated over and over until finally, the tears seemed to be slowing. Coulson led Darcy over to the nearest storage room, pushing it open to reveal piles of couches held in reserve for when Thor visited and plopped onto the couch a little too enthusiastically. Darcy curled up in the corner of the couch and Coulson sat down beside her, letting her push her forehead against his shoulder. He kept an arm around her the whole time as Darcy’s sniffles became shuddering breaths and those became silence.

“We never talked about this.” said Darcy. Coulson looked down at her,

“What?”

“Me and B—my boyfriend. We never discussed kids. We always thought it was impossible. I mean, I’m on the pill and we were always careful.” her voice was quiet and Coulson held her a little tighter to his side,

“How do you feel about it?” he asked in the same quiet voice. Despite being the only ones on the entire floor of the building, it still felt like they had to be careful to keep it a secret for now. Not that it can stay one for long, thought Darcy, as one of her hands came to rest on her abdomen. She knew it was her imagination, but it felt a little bigger than it had that morning. Darcy shrugged, then almost broke down again,

“I’m not ready. I can barely take care of myself. I have Starbucks and poptarts for breakfast most days, how am I supposed to take care of a new human?” she said. Coulson was quiet a moment, then said slowly,

“I don’t think you’re giving yourself enough credit.”

“Huh?”

“I mean, you take care of me pretty well.”

“Yeah, but you’re you. You can at least eat on your own.” she sniffled. Coulson lifted her head up, making Darcy look at him,

“Darcy, before you started working for me, I ate maybe once a day. I slept three hours a night and spent most days trying not to collapse. You’ve been taking care of me more than you know.” he said. Darcy didn’t have anything to say to that. They sat there a moment longer. Coulson said into the dimly lit storage room,

“If I can ask, who’s the father?”

“None of your damn business.” said the small voice at his side.

“Darcy…”

“He…” Darcy sighed, sitting up and wiping the tears and ruined mascara from her cheeks, “He’s a good man. I’m just not sure how this will go over.”

“Do I need to send in Clint?”

“Nah,” said Darcy with a shaky laugh, “I think I’ve got this. Mind if I take the rest of the day off?”

“I was about to make you.” said Coulson.

“Awesome. You’re pretty chill, Son of Coul. Take your damn pills and leave by six or so help me, I will kick your ass all the way to PT tomorrow.” Darcy stood up and straightened her outfit as best she could. As she walked out, Coulson sat on the couch and smiled to himself. _I’m chill._

 

As Darcy returned to the elevator they’d come down in, she felt that panic clawing at her gut again. She was pregnant. There was a miniature human currently incubating in her body and it would be there for many months hence. She put a hand to her abdomen. Somewhere, beneath all the panic and the tears, she was happy. Coulson was right. He wasn’t exactly a baby that she’d been taking care of, but she had taken care of him nonetheless. She could do this. Bruce would help her out. Bruce had always been the most level-headed of the pair of them, on the whole. It had been his idea to keep their relationship under wraps, for security purposes. The Hulk had enough enemies outside of SHIELD, not to mention the potential paperwork and judging questions that could from SHIELD. Darcy had agreed. He had his moments of impulsiveness and she had hers, but he had gotten much better at controlling his. Darcy pushed the button for the labs and hoped that Jane would be occupied enough not to notice her slipping in.

For once, luck was on her side and Jane was out of the lab. Probably off banging her God of Abs, but Darcy had already lost her breakfast for the day and didn’t want to think about what her friends were up to. Her quarry was still in the lab, sitting at his desk, thank goodness. Bruce’s hair was askew again, like he’d been running his fingers through it in frustration. It was only nine in the morning though, which was a little early to be getting that stressed out, at least by Darcy’s standards. He was staring at his computer when Darcy snuck up behind his chair and started massaging his scalp. Bruce groaned and leaned back into her, closing his eyes as he leaned his head back until it was mere inches from her abdomen. Darcy’s breath caught slightly. He was so close to her secret. It was right there, so close to his head. She pushed it out of her mind,

“Rough day?” she said. Bruce made a vague noise of agreement.

“Do you realize you’ve only been here an hour?”

“Nrgh.” said Bruce. Darcy laughed and Bruce felt the sound vibrate through her body. He cracked one eye open to squint up at her,

“Did Phil run out of problems for you to fix?”

“Nah. Something came up and he gave me the rest of the day off.”

“What happened?” said Bruce, both eyes open now. Darcy shrugged,

“Just a thing. Told me to go home.”

“Are you okay?” asked Bruce. He stood up from his chair, wincing as his joints unraveled themselves. Darcy let herself be folded into his hug,

“Yeah, I’m cool. I was freaking out a little earlier, but I’m good now.” she said. Bruce stepped back and looked at her. No matter how hard Darcy tried, she had still missed some of the mascara tracked down her face,

“You’ve been crying.” observed Bruce. Darcy nodded, her casual demeanor fading away. She couldn’t make eye contact with him, all of her worries coming flooding back to her. They had never discussed kids. With all of the science that happened to him and the frankly dangerous lifestyle Bruce led, Darcy was fairly certain he wouldn’t have suggested kids. But there was one now, no matter what he would have suggested; Darcy was keeping this little kidlet and his suggestions could go to hell. She squared her shoulders and said with the tiniest tremble in her voice,

“I’m pregnant.”

Bruce stepped back slightly, eyes wide and sounding like she was speaking a foreign language, “You’re…”

“Pregnant. Up the duff. Bun in the oven. Preggo with eggo. In the family way.”

“But…the gamma radiation…” Bruce was blinking like an owl. Darcy shrugged,

“I know, I thought it would have fried your swimmers too. But hey, guess not. I dunno. I’m on the pill and it’s not like we didn’t use a condom.” As she watched and Bruce seemed no more able to wrap his mind around the idea, Darcy started to panic. She shrugged in the most casual way she could, “So yeah, that’s a thing. You don’t have to be, you know, involved in the rearing of the spawn. Just figured I should let you know to prevent awkward questions in a couple of months. Anyway, I’m gonna go. Um…let me know if you have questions. About…I dunno. Fuck it, I’m out.” Darcy turned and started to walk away, lamenting the lack of a nearby paper bag to hyperventilate into. She really thought that would have gone better. She could understand a little freaking out, but Bruce looked like the entire concept of babies was new to him. Darcy squared her shoulders and held back the pinpricks of tears. She had a whole day ahead of her of crying into ice cream and talking to Jane. Maybe should could get Thor and Jane to babysit every now and again. She kept expecting Bruce to say something as she walked, but it was quiet. Darcy left.

An hour later found her sitting on her couch beneath a blanket with a half-empty box of Baskin Robbins and Netflix playing Too Cute. Jane had proved unreachable and Darcy decided that it was time for a little me-time. Besides, if she really had wanted to talk to Jane, she would have walked next door and knocked. One of the many benefits of living in Avenger Tower, everyone was close. One of the downsides of living in Avenger Tower, everyone was close. But Darcy was glad for the alone time. Which normally involved wine and a bubble bath followed by finding Bruce for a quick fuck, but that wasn’t in the cards tonight. Tonight was more of a binge-eat-with-Netflix kind of night. Bucky, her grouchy grey cat missing a front leg, was curled up beside her. Even he couldn’t be bothered to be his normal antisocial self. Probably because Darcy had given him a bit of catnip when she came home and now he was especially cuddly. As Darcy cried into her ice cream and watched the puppies on tv, her phone rang. She picked it up and sniffled,

“Hello?”

“Miss Lewis? Should I expect you in tomorrow?” said Coulson. Darcy looked down at herself in a shirt she stole from Bruce and paint-splattered yoga pants.

“Yeah. Might be a little late, but I’ll be there. And I think you should probably bite the bullet and call me Darcy.”

“Very well, Darcy. I take you informed the father of the impending arrival?”

“Uh-huh.” Darcy felt tears welling again. Coulson must have heard it because his voice grew brittle hard,

“Do I need to have our mutual friends visit him to make a point?” he asked. Darcy fought the urge to laugh at the image that brought.

“No. I let him know. He needed a chance to think. Now we’ll see if he gets over himself and calls me back.” she said. She and Coulson talked a little more, mostly about the schedule for the next day, and Darcy hung up the phone.


	2. Jane's Freakout

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy tells the team and Jane freaks out because best friends tell each other things.

A couple months later, Darcy was still waiting for Bruce to get over himself and call her. Now she made a point of not visiting the lab, something she was grateful Jane had failed to notice because of new scientific revelations. She didn’t want to explain why she avoided what was once her second home like the plague. Her clothes had been feeling tight for a while, and now it was time to face the truth: it was time to buy new clothes. And tell people. No one had really asked yet, but lately Darcy had been seeing a number of looks at her abdomen and everyone now and then someone looked like they were about to say something, then thought better of it. As fun as it was to watch people try to figure it out, it was time to tell. After a bit of scheming and a quick trip to the mall, Darcy had her way to tell.

The next morning, Darcy was deliberately later to breakfast. Everyone on her floor shared a common area, including a living room, kitchen, and dining room. Generally the morning started with Steve, Bucky, and Sam going for a run at some ungodly hour and returning in time to help Darcy with breakfast. Tony would come staggering in after that, followed by Jane and Bruce and Thor, if he was on Earth that morning. Natasha and Clint, if they weren’t busy, would drop in at some point in time. Coffee was always hot and pancakes were always fresh and everyone was happy. Of course, since Darcy had dropped the bomb on Bruce, he’d been suspiciously absent at most meal times, citing science needed to happen. Everyone had eventually stopped questioning it, especially when too many questions brought out the green tint in his skin.

That morning, Darcy came late to breakfast, waiting until the time it was most likely everyone would be there. Sam, Steve, and Bucky must have made breakfast on their own because the spread still smelled absolutely delicious. Thor was gone, but everyone else was tucking into breakfast. People started looking up when Darcy walked in, passing greetings from all. Apparently super heroes were complete crap at observation before copious amounts of caffeine. Darcy stretched, doing her best to draw attention to her shirt, which read “Baby on Board”. It must have worked, because Jane squeaked and dropped her fork.

“Darcy!” she said, jumping up. Darcy did her best faux-innocent expression,

“What?” Jane ran over and hugged her tight,

“Congratulations!” The table looked up again and finally realized what was happening. Everyone exploded with questions and congratulations. Darcy couldn’t help but laugh. Everyone was so happy for her, so excited. A part of her tried to compare their reactions to Bruce’s, but the rest of her viciously squashed that idea. Finally, Steve shouted from the back,

“How far are you?”

“10 weeks.” said Darcy. Sam spoke up,

“Who’s the father?” This was the part Darcy was concerned about. She bit her lip,

“He’s not in the picture.” All sounds around the table ceased. Reactions ranged from Sam, looking mildly perturbed, to Tony, who looked surprisingly murderous. Darcy forced a smile, “Seriously, guys. It’s not a huge deal. He knows and he’s not interested.”

“What’s his name and current address?” asked Natasha, her knuckles going white around the fork in her grasp. Darcy straightened her back and squared her shoulders and it made her belly stick out just that much more,

“I’m not telling you. He doesn’t need all of you at his doorstep glaring until the poor man has a breakdown.”

“Darcy…” growled Bucky. She put her hands up,

“Hey there. The pregnant lady just wants some food.” Darcy reached in and grabbed an extra plate, loading it with a bit of everything. As she sat down, Clint remarked,

“It’s a shame Banner’s gone, or else you could just get your check-ups here.” Darcy nearly coughed on her pancake,

“Banner’s gone?” She tried to make it sound as nonchalant as possible. Natasha looked slightly suspicious, but everyone had already gone back to their food. Clint replied,

“Yeah. Left a week ago. Coulson asked him to go check something out in South Africa and he went along with it. Probably some new disease or something.” he said. Darcy nodded,

“Yeah, that sounds about right.” She felt something suspiciously like feelings start to well up and she pushed them to the back of her mind. She did not need to break down crying in front of every superhero ever. The rest of breakfast was spent with various questions ranging from the relevant (“Is it a boy or girl?” “Too soon to tell.”) to the inane (“Can the baby hear us talking right now?” “No.”). As breakfast was wrapping up, Darcy caught Jane giving her a look that said they would most definitely be discussing this later. Darcy winced at that. She knew it hadn’t been right to keep it from Jane and everyone else, especially this long. Truthfully, Darcy had waited this long just to be sure that things wouldn’t go wrong right away. With the potential Hulk-influence on the offspring, Darcy had been afraid of miscarrying for a long time. There wasn’t exactly a book to consult on the care and keeping of green babies. Now that she was just about into her second trimester, she felt slightly more confident in letting everyone know. Besides, hiding it much longer wasn’t going to help anyone.

As Darcy cleared her plate and started dishes, despite the protestations of the team (“Honestly guys, I’m barely pregnant at this point. Pitch a fit when I’m the size of a house.”), she finally let her thoughts fall to what she had been studiously ignoring all morning: Bruce was gone. Sure, they had effectively broken up, but some part of her had held out that he would eventually warm to the idea of fatherhood. Now though, he was on the other half of the globe for who knew how long. Darcy was raising this new human on her own.

But even as the thought crossed her mind, Darcy knew that it wasn’t true. The whole team would back her up, being good role models where Darcy herself fell short. Darcy had grown up without a dad and with a mom whose interest varied with the day. Knowing that she didn’t exactly have the best examples to follow, Darcy had no doubt that there would be moments where she did something she wouldn’t be proud of. When she fell short of the mark, there would be others to help set the standard. Darcy was going to try her hardest though to be the kind of mother her kid needed. Even if the father was skipping town.

 

Sure enough, when Darcy went down to the lab that day, Jane actually noticed her entrance for the first time in a long while. The short scientist walked up, grabbing Darcy’s hand and almost dragged her out of the lab and straight to the couch room. The couch room was a product of having the resident scientists often ending up sleeping at their desk, drooling on paperwork. The couch room was close enough that either scientists could walk to it before falling asleep standing up, or one of the interns could drag them to a couch and have them sleep there. Jane pointed Darcy to the nearest couch, a comfy red one, and said,

“Sit.” Darcy let out a put-upon sigh and sat down,

“Jane, I know you’re annoyed—“

“Absolutely I’m annoyed! I thought we were best friends, Darcy! Best friends tell each other when they’re pregnant!” Jane was pacing back and forth in front of her. Darcy tried to explain,

“Look I wanted to, but—“

“You’re almost three months pregnant! You’re like my sister! Why wouldn’t you tell me? And also, what the heck were you doing visiting a science lab this entire time!” Jane paused in her pacing to smack Darcy’s arm, “It’s a SCIENCE LAB! Routinely inhabited by a man who turns into a GIANT SMASHING MONSTER and a billionaire who likes TO MAKE THINGS GO BOOM!”

“Well first off, I haven’t been in here as much since I found out. Besides, everyone is working on projects with a significantly lower chance of going boom, Bruce is really good at controlling his anger and isn’t even here anymore, and the worst thing that can happen in your part of the lab is Tony realizing exactly how much of that stuff is cobbled together with duct tape and finally replacing it. No, wait that’d be the best thing that could happen.” said Darcy. Jane practically waved her arms in Darcy’s face,

“Not the point! The point is that this is a very dangerous workplace! We have a sign for ‘Days Since Last Explosion’ that has never gotten above one hundred!”

“Well then it’s good that I’m not here for hours on end, like someone I could mention who is in the most danger of being crushed by a duct tape-covered piece of dissected toaster!” said Darcy. Jane shook her head,

“But you’re pregnant!”

“I know! Jesus, it’s not like I missed the memo. Look, Jane,” Darcy grabbed Jane’s hands on her next pace by and Jane stopped moving for the first time since they got down there, “I wanted to tell you. I did. It’s just that…it’s a potentially high-risk pregnancy and I didn’t want you to worry.” she said. Jane ran a hand through her hair and plopped down next to Darcy,

“Why is it potentially high-risk?” she asked. Darcy tried not to be nervous. She owed this to Jane. The woman had always been a good friend; she could be trusted with this,

“Because the father’s genetics could potentially cause problems.” Darcy could see Jane getting excited and Darcy put a finger up, shaking it at Jane like she was an errant puppy, “But you have to swear that you won’t tell anyone. JARVIS, you’re also sworn to secrecy.” she said.

“I assumed as much, Miss Lewis.” said JARVIS. Jane also nodded. Darcy took a deep breath,

“It’s Bruce.”

“Bruce Banner? The guy who every now and again turns green and huge and very angry? That Bruce?” asked Jane, her voice almost squeaking. Darcy wasn’t sure if it was pregnancy hormones or just being tired of everyone’s assumptions, but she snapped at Jane,

“No. My Bruce is the one who just wants to do his science and help people. The one who drinks copious amounts of tea and does yoga at some ungodly hour of the day so he can function. The Bruce who wants to cuddle on movie night and sometimes has the filthiest jokes I’ve ever heard. That’s the Bruce who is the father.” Jane looked slightly ashamed of her previous reaction, but said anyway,

“I know. But they’re the same person, Darcy. Your tea guru and the guy who broke Harlem.”

“I know.” said Darcy quietly. They sat there in silence for a moment before she said, “I met him, once.”

“What?”

“The Hulk. Not Bruce, but the actual green Hulk.” she said. Jane’s eyes bugged and she prompted,

“And?”

“And he liked me. Poked me a little rougher than I would have preferred, but said that I was good, smiled in the least terrifying way possible, and went on to tear apart the lab.”

“Was that when I was on Asgard?” asked Jane. Darcy nodded and said,

“Bruce doesn’t remember it happening. I told him that I had forgotten about our lunch date and missed the whole thing.”

“Why wouldn’t you tell him?”

“Because then he’d do his little downward spiral of ‘I could have killed you’ and I decided neither of us really wanted to deal with that spiral and its aftermath.”

“Wait, you two are dating?” asked Jane. Darcy nodded,

“Were. Almost a year. Wanted to keep it a secret for security reasons. Don’t know if it really matters anymore.” said Darcy. Jane wrapped her arms around Darcy and Darcy let herself fall into them. It was good to talk about this. It had been something she tried to ignore every day for a while, the constant need to tell him something new she found on the internet about the baby. Now, it was more of a scab Darcy tried to not pick. Talking with Jane helped pull the last of the pent-up pain from the wound. She sobbed into the little scientist’s shoulder,

“I told him I was pregnant and he just froze. Couldn’t wrap his mind around the idea that it could have possibly happened when it rather obviously did. And I told him he could be involved but not to feel pressured and then I started walking, just to give him space to process, you know? And he never said anything. And now he—he’s gone and…and…” Darcy ended up crying too hard to say anything. Jane rubbed a hand on Darcy’s back,

“Oh, Darce. I had no idea. I…I’m so sorry.” She hugged Darcy even tighter. They ended up sitting on the couch like that for a while, Darcy being held by Jane as she cried for so much, so much that she missed and that Bruce would soon miss. It was almost half an hour later that Darcy wiped the last of her tears and stood up,

“I’m going to go buy more Poptarts if Thor will be here this weekend. Need anything else?” she said. Jane smiled at her,

“Nah, I’m good. Get some decaffeinated Starbucks or something while you’re out.”

“Will do.” said Darcy, giving a mock salute. She grabbed her purse from where it had landed on the couch and took a deep, steadying breath. She could do this. She could carry on.


	3. Bonding With Tony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Late at night, neither Darcy or Tony can sleep and they bond.

It was two in the morning and Darcy was severely displeased that she knew that fact. It was a month after telling the team that she was pregnant and Darcy was tired. Her boobs hurt and were freakishly huge and all she wanted to do was sleep. Idly, a part of her mind wondered how Bruce would react to her new boobs. He’d always been fairly fond of them, not that Darcy could blame him. Her boobs were pretty fucking awesome. But now it was two in the morning and Darcy threw the covers off herself with a huff. She’d get a cup of tea that Bruce had got her into liking and see if that helped her feel tired. She pulled on an oversized t-shirt and opened her door.

When she got to the kitchen though, Darcy discovered that she wasn’t the only one having late night difficulties. Tony stood in front of the fridge and as far as Darcy could tell, he was only wearing boxers. Boxers covered in pictures of little Iron Man suits. She smirked,

“Your face is on your ass.” she said. Tony spun around in surprise, but smiled when he saw her,

“Why yes, yes it is.”

“Please tell me that Pepper got you those as a joke.” said Darcy as she walked into the kitchen, doing her best to ignore the fact that she wasn’t wearing pants and he wasn’t wearing a shirt.

“Nope. Anonymous sender.” he said. Darcy snorted,

“So Clint.”

“Yeah.” he said. Darcy shrugged and grabbed a mug out of the cupboard. As she filled the kettle, she said,

“So what brings you to this not-lab-or-bedroom realm at this hour?”

“I missed dinner and I think we have some pizza leftover.” he said as he hunted through the shelves of the fridge. Darcy shook her head,

“Nah. I ate that earlier.” she said. Tony stood up,

“Traitor! Such crimes committed!” he said. Darcy shrugged,

“Hey, eating for two. I will eat whatever the hell I want.” she said. Something in Tony looked contemplative at that and Darcy frowned, “What?”

He shrugged, “Nothing.” he said. Darcy gave him a look but let it slide. Just then, the kettle seemed close to shrieking and Darcy quickly pulled it off the heat. She poured it into the mug and threw a teabag in. She heard Tony shuffling things around in the fridge. Darcy waited. She knew that whatever was going through his mind, he’d eventually say something. He was good at hiding things, but he’d always been different with her. Not how he was with Pepper, because Darcy and he were in no way romantic. But closer than regular friends. Darcy didn’t know how to classify it. They told each other stuff. So when Tony turned around and said,

“I can’t believe he left you.” Darcy simply shrugged. She grabbed her tea and walked over to the couches where the kitchen became the living room. Tony grabbed a take-out box and followed her. Darcy plopped onto the couch,

“Me neither.”

“It’s just…no guy should ditch their kid. It’s wrong.”

“I’m not saying it was the wisest idea. But it was kind of a shock. Neither of us were exactly prepared.”

“But you’re handling it okay now.” said Tony. He sat down beside Darcy and leaned his head on her shoulder, careful not to bump her breasts. Darcy lay her head on top of his. It was the weird kind of platonic cuddling that Darcy had never experienced before, but it was amazingly comforting. Darcy thought for a moment,

“In the beginning, I wasn’t. I mean, I’m still pretty much a kid and now I’m having one. But it’s been a while; now it’s just a part of my life that I’m going to roll with.” she said. Tony sighed quietly. In a small voice, he said,

“I was almost a father.” he said. Darcy was shocked, but she said nothing. He continued, “I was nineteen I think. She was a girl I ran into at the only benefit I attended that year.” he took a deep breath, “She told me after she had the abortion.”

“Shit.” said Darcy, a vague noise of distress squeaking out in her throat. Tony simply nodded. They were quiet for a minute, Darcy absorbing the news and Tony just remembering. Then, he said in that same quiet voice,

“I think, if she had told me before, I would have asked her to keep it. I know that a woman’s body is hers and that I couldn’t make her or anything. But I do think, I wonder…” he trailed off. Darcy reached over and took his hand, placing it on top of her little bump. He pushed down just a little bit, as if trying to reassure himself that it was there. They sat there, Darcy with her tea and Tony with his hand on her stomach, for a while. It was the kind of quiet soothing moment that can’t happen in daytime. There were no more words that night. Darcy slowly drank her tea and Tony ate his take-out. Every now and again, he’d put his hand on Darcy’s stomach again and Darcy would smile. Uncle Tony was gonna rock the fuck out of being an uncle.


	4. Bonding With Bucky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy is bonding with Bucky on horror movie night.

Darcy sighed and sank deeper into the couch. Steve, Bucky, and Sam were spending movie night with her as everyone else worked on projects. Well, Sam was spending movie night with her. Bucky was reading on his tablet and Steve sat in the corner, drawing them all. Sam made an excellent pillow as she shoved her face into his side. 20/20 hindsight, watching a scary movie was a bad idea. Blood that looked more realistic than it had any right to spattered across the floor and Darcy squeaked. Sam let his arm fall around her shoulders and he rubbed her arm,

“We can choose a different movie, you know.” he said. Darcy shook her head,

“That’s admitting defeat. We just need to watch something happy after this.” Sam nodded as Darcy kept trying to practically disappear into his side. Bucky rubbed her back, not taking his eyes off of his tablet. He never watched the movies on horror movie night. Darcy almost wondered if it triggered anything from his Hydra days, but asking felt insensitive and he never had an episode during or after, so maybe he just didn’t like them. More blood and screams from the television had Darcy squeezing her eyes shut and snuggling close the Sam, her arm wrapped around her abdomen. She jumped when she felt someone touch her arm and she opened her eyes to see Steve settling onto the couch between her and Bucky. He leaned against her back and Darcy already felt safer. Bucky leaned forward so he could look at Darcy,

“Do you want me to tell you how I’d take them out?” he asked. Darcy paused the movie and said quietly,

“Yes please.” Bucky opened his mouth to start explaining, but Darcy’s eyes widened and her other hand flew to her stomach, “Oh my God.”

“What is it?” asked Steve, instantly jumping to alert. Sam and Bucky looked concerned but Darcy slowly smiled,

“She moved.” Darcy felt the soft fluttering again and looked down at her stomach. Steve hesitantly asked,

“Can I feel?”

“Sure.” Darcy grabbed his hand and put it where she felt the baby move. She felt it again and looked at him expectantly, but Steve had no reaction. She shrugged, “I guess it’s too early for you guys to feel it.” Steve moved his hand away but Darcy was entranced for the rest of the evening. Slowly, Steve and Sam left for bed, leaving Darcy chomping popcorn and watching Disney, occasionally smiling at her stomach, and Bucky at the edge of the couch. As the credits started rolling, Bucky looked up,

“My metal hand is good at detecting movement. Movement my other hand can’t.” he said. Darcy scooted closer,

“Do you want to try to feel?” she asked. Bucky didn’t say anything but nodded. Darcy grabbed his metal hand without hesitation and put it over her stomach, “She’s been doing it off and on all evening.” It was a few minutes, but Darcy felt it again. She looked at Bucky, who smiled and nodded. Darcy giggled,

“Isn’t it amazing?”

“It really is.” said Bucky. He moved his hand away, but Darcy saw the flash of regret on his face. She grabbed his hand and put it back on her abdomen. She put her hand on his mechanical shoulder,

“The robo-arm doesn’t freak me out, you know.”

“It should probably scare you.” said Bucky, but he kept it on her belly. Darcy shook her head,

“It doesn’t. It can do some amazing things.” she said. Bucky snorted,

“Yeah. Some amazingly lethal things. It’s,” he sighed and his flesh hand came up to rub at his forehead, “it’s killed a lot of people.”

“But it also does some amazing nonlethal things.” insisted Darcy. Bucky looked at her skeptically and she continued, “Dude. No one else was going to feel this baby but me. And you can. That’s pretty amazing. Also, you can stop bullets. That’s nonlethal. Pretty much the opposite of lethal, actually.” she said. Bucky nodded slowly. The baby fluttered again and Bucky couldn’t help the tiniest of smiles that came to his face. She reached up and petted his hair before standing and stretching. She yawned, “Well, mother and baby are going to turn in for the night. G’night.” she said. She was almost her door when Bucky said,

“Darcy?” She turned and he said, not quite making eye contact, “Thanks.”

“Hey man, thanks for feeling the baby too. It’s good to know that I’m not hallucinating. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Darcy closed her door behind her and went to lie down on her bed. The baby fluttered again and she sighed, letting her hand cover it. She shook her head and felt a tear prickling at the corner of her eyes,

“Your daddy should be here.” she said quietly. There was no answering sound. Darcy sighed again, “Good night, my fluttery daughter.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At this time, Darcy hasn't had an ultrasound yet, so when she calls the baby a daughter, she's just going on maternal instinct.


	5. Bruce Comes Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce comes home and everything is resolved.

Darcy was out, and it felt good. Being six months pregnant meant that everything was a little harder to do. Living with Avengers and company, all of whom had a protective streak a mile long, Darcy had relatively little she was allowed to do. Of course, she in the last trimester and she appreciated it, but really, she could clear her own cereal bowl from the table. Or, as the case of the moment was, go shopping. Darcy had intended to sneak out of the Tower to go shopping, then call someone to help her carry everything back but oh no, Thor heard her leaving and decided to accompany her. Darcy had sighed, but let him come along without a fight. She wanted to save her energy for shopping, not trying to convince a god that she didn’t need an escort. As she wandered around New York City, Thor tried to make himself as inconspicuous as possible. Darcy looked across the street and stopped dead.

Bruce stood on the opposite corner.

Their eyes locked.

He looked at her belly.

The light turned and he walked over to Darcy, who still hadn’t moved. Thor saw Bruce and his face split into a wide grin,

“Friend Banner! It’s a joyous surprise to see you here!”

“Hey, Thor.” he said, his eyes flicking to Thor before becoming glued to Darcy again. Thor saw and said,

“Indeed, our Shieldmaiden Darcy is with child! Two children, which is rare even on Midgard.” he said. Bruce’s eyes bugged and Darcy blushed,

“I got my first ultrasound last week. Twins, a boy and a girl.”

“Wow.” whispered Bruce. Darcy turned to Thor,

“Hey tall guy, thanks for walking me, but I think Bruce can talk over Darcy-sitting duty.”

“Very well. I will see you back at the Tower. May your shopping fare well.” said Thor. He turned and walked back toward the Tower, cutting a wide path through the tourists and pedestrians. Darcy turned to Bruce and suddenly all the anger she’d felt over the past six months rose to the surface. She crossed her arms,

“Well? Any excuses for disappearing to the ass end of the Earth? Or should we skip straight to the part where we pretend that you had absolutely no hand in this for the rest of our natural-born lives?”

“Darcy…”

“Unless you are about to tell me why you left, I don’t want to hear it.” she said. A corner in New York was hardly the most convenient place to have this conversation, but dammit, nothing about this pregnancy was convenient, so fuck it. Darcy would do as she wanted. Bruce took a deep breath,

“I didn’t think I could. The gamma radiation should have killed me, never mind everything else. Right after the experiment, I checked. My count is so low that the statistical chances of me procreating are at almost zero.”

“Well, in the Avengers, ‘almost zero’ might as well mean ‘100% guarantee’.” said Darcy, but it made sense. She didn’t think it was probably, but he didn’t think it was possible.

“I know. I’m sorry I freaked out. The laws of the universe were pretty much upended for me and I didn’t know what to say, and then Coulson assigned me, and then I was so far away and this doesn’t feel like a conversation for the phone. I-I’m sorry.” he finished. Darcy nodded slowly,

“Apology accepted. I’m not due for three months. You have that much time to get your shit together.”

“Thank you.” said Bruce. Darcy hesitated, then said,

“Bruce, I know you love me. I know you’re sorry. But this whole thing is a broken-trust issue, so that isn’t exactly a slap-a-Bandaid-on-it problem. This will take time.”

“Understood.”

“But despite the problems you and I have, if you still want to be involved in their lives, I won’t stop you. But you have to _be involved_. Not be-involved-when-you-aren’t-in-a-self-hate-spiral, but actually be there. School programs, parent-teacher conferences, the whole shebang.”

“I want to be involved. I’ll be there, world-saving notwithstanding.” said Bruce. Darcy rolled her eyes,

“As our children will live in this world, I suppose you are allowed to miss a recital if you have to go save said world.” Bruce smiled and Darcy smiled back. She felt tears starting to well up. She reached up and put her hand on his cheek, “I missed you.”

 Bruce leaned into the contact, “I missed you too.”

Darcy grabbed his hand and put it on her belly where one of the babies was kicking. Bruce’s eyes widened,

“Is that—“

“Yep.” said Darcy. The baby nudged at his hand again. Bruce looked down at his hand,

“Wow.”

“Yep. Shall we go back to the Tower?”

“Yeah.” said Bruce, wonder still clinging to his voice as his hand fell back to his side. They turned and headed back toward Avenger Tower, and Darcy had hope for the future. Not certainty, because Bruce was an Avenger and sometimes fate was a bitch, but she had hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed! I had a lot of fun writing this and it's probably one of the longest things I've written to date. Hope you had fun!


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